Mixed Results for Brands After Estimated $2.8 Billion Spent on World Cup Sponsorships

The World Cup sponsorship deals have yielded mixed results for major brands.

Coca-Cola and Visa appear to be the big winners, with Coca-Cola's World Cup sponsorship contributing to a 7% increase in net revenues to $13.4 billion in Q2, its strongest growth in 17 years. Visa saw a 14% year-over-year net revenue increase to $11.63 billion, with transactions rising by as much as 20% in some host cities and international visitor business growing by up to 40%. Visa CEO Ryan McInerney and CFO Chris Suh praised the FIFA investment on their earnings call.

Adidas, however, fumbled with its World Cup sponsorship, despite a strong Q2 showing of net sales growth by 14% overall. However, Adidas' footwear revenue grew by just 1%, and profit fell short of analyst estimates, leading to a 19% drop in stock price.